*************CRESTWOOD********

"Okay… I've OFFICIALLY have had enough of these damn Mayors who think they're doing something good when they're not!"

Varric and Blackwall laughed as they continued walking through Crestwood, while Vivienne merely huffed in agreement. After clearing the area of the undead by dealing with an underground Rift, Alex found out that the decaying creatures plaguing the people were actually those who died after the Mayor of Crestwood flooded the old town after the Fifth Blight infected them. He ran after leaving a letter of confession, and she had Leliana's people look for the man while they headed to the cave that supposedly hid Hawke and her Warden friend, Alistair.

At the thought of seeing her sister's husband, Alex fidgeted, pulling on her clothes, which caused Varric to chuckle, "Nervous, Rosy?"

"I'm meeting my sister's husband." She said, frowning a bit, "Solona's husband. Maker, why didn't she tell me anything about that bit of information?"

"Well, she was a little busy dealing with the Blight and replenishing the Wardens of Ferelden." Varric said, shrugging, "Give her some credit. If she told you everything, I bet it'll be as thick as my book."

"That would be better. I'd put it on my bedside table and read it before I sleep… even though it seems I haven't been doing much of that." She said, and she huffed again. "Somebody kick me when I say something stupid in front of him."

Vivienne huffed again, "My dear, he's a Warden. I doubt that he'll be much more refined than present company." She said, looking pointedly at Blackwall, who rolled his eyes. "There she goes again." He muttered out.

"Well, from what I've heard, he was King Maric's bastard." Alex said as she continued walking, "And that Arl Eamon wanted him to be King when Cailan died. But he preferred to stay with the Wardens with my sister, so they let Queen Anora remain as ruler."

"And look what that caused. She gave the mages refuge in Redcliffe, and they turned it into a base of operations for the Venatori." Vivienne argued back, "She was a fool to think that those mages could govern themselves without the templars."

Varric and Alex looked at each other and rolled their eyes, opting to remain silent. Even though Vivienne was a powerful mage, she had a very traditional view of the world and of magic, and very manipulative and spoiled. Even though Alex respected her, she found herself disliking the other mages' opinions. Varric felt the same, even though they were getting along. And in an effort to make sure that they got along whenever they traveled, Alex and the others to made a pact to no longer talk about mages, the Circle or the Chantry when Vivienne was around.

"So, Varric…" Alex said in an effort to steer the discussion away from the Circle, "Are you working on that book I asked for?"

"It'll be ready when I say it's ready, Rosy. You can't rush a masterpiece… or a monster-piece, in this instance." Varric said, before chuckling, "I still can't believe that out of all the books I've written, Cassandra decides to read… and become a fan, of the worse serial I've written."

"Even hardened women can be romantics, Varric. It's kind of… embedded." Alex said, and she mentioned to Vivienne, "I mean, look at Vivienne. She had the whole 'love at first sight' thing going on with Duke Bastien when they first met."

At this, Vivienne smiled warmly, "Darling, if you had met Bastien during the time I did, you'd be charmed as well. Even though I believe you've already charmed our dear Commander."

Alex turned around at Vivienne, who was smiling at her teasingly. Blackwall and Varric were grinning, and she sighed tiredly before rubbing a hand on her forehead, "Maker's breath, they told you, didn't they?"

Vivienne laughed lightly, "My dear Inquisitor, you don't need to be a Ben-Hassrath or a spy to see the way you two look at each other. I can see it as plain as the hairs on Varric's chest. There is an undeniable spark between you two."

"There is no spark." Alex said, gritting her teeth as she resumed walking.

"How about a fire? And ember? A twinkle?" Blackwall offered, still chuckling, and she rolled her eyes. "You've been reading Varric's book way too much, Blackwall."

"Personally, the word I want to use is 'scintillation'." Varric said, grinning at her.

Vivienne smiled down at the dwarf, "Yes. 'Scintillation' works just as well."

The dwarf laughed out loud, causing Alex to growl a little, "Enough of this. Let's just look for Hawke."

The three of her companions laughed as she stomped off towards the incline, where she could see her cousin standing by its mouth. At their approach, Hawke smiled a little, "It's good to see you, cousin. And you, too, Varric. Alistair is already here."

"Any new developments in your investigation, Marian?" Alex said as they entered the damp cave, and she noticed that Vivienne was picking some Deep Mushrooms.

Her cousin shook her head, "Not much. But I've received word that… Carver is feeling something, too. Aveline said he was starting to hear… music."

"Well, shit." Varric said as he walked beside his friend, "That's weird."

"I know. That's why I need to speak with Alistair as well." Hawke said, "He might have answers. Come on, we're close."

They continued walking forward, towards the end of the cave, and soon Alex spotted a wooden door. She made the others stop, before she opened it.